Ninth International Conference on Permafrost ... - IARC Research

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Rock Glacier Distribution in the Absaroka/Beartooth Wilderness, Montana, USAZach M. Seligman, Anna E. KleneDepartment of Geography, University of Montana, Missoula, 59812, USAIntroductionRock glaciers are relatively understudied glacialfeatures found in many alpine environments around theworld. Because they are rock-covered and often similar inappearance to talus fields and moraines, their presence andhydrologic significance has gone widely unnoticed (Millar& Westfall 2007). However, they play an important role inalpine environments. Rock glaciers provide a mechanismfor transport of headwall debris (Humlum 2000) and,similar to glaciers, can act as a source of year-round waterin high alpine catchments where late summer precipitationis minimal (Johnson 2007). Schrott (1996) determined thatthese features can contribute up to 30% of river dischargeduring summer months in the Andes.Additionally, rock glaciers potentially contain significantclimatic information within their spatial distribution(Humlum 1998). While a number of studies have focusedon these relationships (Kerschner 1978, Brazier et al. 1998,Humlum 1998), a paucity of relevant climate stations oftenlimits such efforts (Brazier et al. 1998). Other research hasexamined characteristics of rock glacier age (Aoyama 2005),movement (Chueca & Julian 2005), structure (Arenson et al.2002), and geomorphology (Berthling & Etzelmuller 2007).In the Absaroka/Beartooth wilderness, rock glaciersnumber in the hundreds (unpublished data), existingsimultaneously with cirque glaciers and permanentsnowfields, yet general information about them is sparse,and hydrological research is non-existent. This study willexamine the spatial distribution of rock glaciers to understandthe relative local importance of topoclimatic and geologicfactors. This understanding will allow further investigationsinto the relationships between rock glacier distribution, icevolume, and downstream ecology. The interplay of thesefactors has important implications in light of recent andongoing climatic changes.Research will be performed in two phases. Phase oneincludes analysis through GIS and remote imagery, whichwill explore trends in rock glacier distribution relativeto topoclimatic factors. The second phase will be fieldverification of the digital data, which will subsequentlyinvestigate the link between spatial characteristics of rockglaciers and water availability in alpine catchments.BackgroundTopoclimatic and geologic controlsPrevious research in New Zealand shows that activerock glaciers tend to favor relatively higher elevations andmore southerly aspects (Brazier et al. 1998). In the samestudy, modern distribution of relict rock glaciers favoredlower elevations on all aspects. Similarly, Humlum (1998)describes rock glacier presence to be “a complex functionof responses to air temperature, insolation, wind, andseasonal precipitation over a considerable period.” Just astopoclimatic factors play a major role in ice formation andretention of rock glaciers, lithology has also been shown to bean important component of rock glacier initiation (Johnsonet al. 2007). This study will use GIS to compare topoclimaticand geologic controls on rock glacier distribution.Ice volume and distributional controlsRock glacier ice volume may also correlate strongly withtopographical distribution in the same ways that rock glacieractivity is linked to topographical and altitudinal controls(Humlum 1988). As rock glacier activity is dependent onice volume for its classification, it should follow that icevolume is subject to the same variables that affect rockglacier activity. This study will explore topographical andaltitudinal controls on rock glacier ice volume.Ice volume and vegetationInvestigations of relationships which may exist betweenrock glacier distribution, ice volume, and downstreamecology can be based upon the relationships currently knownto exist between glacial systems and ecological successionin the region. Previous research has looked at vegetativeadvancement in response to glacial recession in Africa (e.g.,Kazuheru 2003). Locally, Hall and Fagre (2003) used modelsto project vegetation succession patterns of glacial forelandsin Glacier National Park, Montana. Perhaps a similarrelationship exists for alpine catchments where rock glaciers,instead of ice glaciers, are the dominant glacial feature. Thisstudy will estimate rock glacier ice volume in comparisonwith percentage per area of appropriate vegetation typesdownhill of the rock glacier terminus.Implications for climateTopological and altitudinal distribution of rock glaciers,in itself, has the potential to contain unique climaticinformation (Humlum 1998). By comparing ages andelevations of active and relict rock glaciers and interpretingchanges in equilibrium line altitudes, timing of glaciationsand temperature differences have been determined (Millar& Westfall 2007). Regionally, results of vegetative patternsassociated with spatial distribution of rock glaciers may alsoharbor additional climatic information.Study AreaThis study will focus, in the first phase, on the distributionof rock glaciers within Absaroka/Beartooth wilderness areain southwest Montana. Phase two will look at approximately30 representative rock glaciers within the wilderness area.279
Ni n t h In t e r n at i o n a l Co n f e r e n c e o n Pe r m a f r o s tMethodologyRock glaciers were initially identified in the study areas usingGoogleEarth software and then were plotted on a printedmap. Digital elevation models (10 × 10 m) for each rockglacier of interest will be obtained from the Montana NaturalResource Information System (NRIS). Digital aerial photoswill also be obtained from NRIS for the Absaroka/BeartoothWilderness. Feature Analyst and ArcGIS software will beused with spectral and pattern-recognition techniques to extractrock glaciers from the imagery. Elevation, slope, aspect,vegetation, and insolation estimates will be computed.Field componentGround verification will be needed to assess the predictionsfrom the remote imagery. Elevation, slope, and aspect will berecorded in the field. Rock glacier activity, as described byJohnson et al. (2007), will be classified as Class 1 (active),Class 2 (inactive), or Class 3 (relict). Total rock glacier volumeand total cirque glacier volume will be estimated by takingGPS coordinates of the perimeters and estimating depth fromsurrounding topography. Rock glacier mantle volume will beestimated by multiplying the perimeter with the depth of themantle. Mantle depth will be estimated by making exposuresof the ice core and looking for natural ice exposure in the mantle.Total ice volume will be predicted by subtracting the rockglacier mantle volume from the total rock glacier volume.Vegetation composition will be determined by techniquesfrom Kimball and Weihrauch (2000). Using 100 m 2 plots,percentage per area of several vegetation communities willbe determined. Plot information will be gathered below therock glacier terminus. Elevations of prominent vegetationregimes will be recorded.DiscussionIn phase one, GIS data will be used to analyze trends in rockglacier distribution relative to topographical, altitudinal, andclimatic characteristics. Anticipated results of this phase includea tendency toward active rock glacier presence at higherelevations on north-facing slopes. Additionally, estimatedrock glacier size, presence of an uphill cirque glacier, and annualinsolation will also be examined with relation to altitudinaldata, slope, and aspect. It is expected that distribution willrepresent a complex correlation based on many factors.Phase two will focus on the field verification of the GISdata and will also look at rock glaciers as elements of waterstorage in alpine regions. The presence of ice in a rockglacier may act as the only late-summer water available todownslope vegetation. For example, a discrepancy in elevationand percent composition of more xeric species below activerock glaciers might differ relative to relict rock glaciers,which, in effect, do not release late-summer glacial melt.ReferencesAoyama, M. 2005. Rock glaciers in the northern JapaneseAlps: Palaeoenvironmental implications since theLate Glacial. J. Quaternary Science 20(5): 471-484.280Arenson, L., Hoelzle, M. & Springman, S. 2002. Boreholedeformation measurements and internal structure ofsome rock glaciers in Switzerland. Permafrost andPeriglacial Processes 13: 117-135.Berthling, I. & Etzelmuller, B. 2007. Holocene rockwallretreat and the estimation of rock glacier age, PrinsKarls Forland, Svalbard. Geografiska Annaler89A(1): 83-93.Brazier, V. et al. 1998. The relationship between climate androck glacier distribution in the Ben Ohau Range, NewZealand. Geografiska Annaler 80A: 3-4.Chueca, J. & Julian, A. 2005. Movement of Besiberris rockglacier, central Pyrenees, Spain: Data from a 10-yeargeodetic survey. Arctic, Antarctic, & Alpine Res.37(2): 163-170.Hall, M. & Fagre, D.B. In press. Where have all the glaciersgone? Modeling climate-induced glacier change inGlacier National Park. Bioscience: 1850-2100.Hughes, P.D., Gibbard, P.L. & Woodward, C. 2003.Relict rock glaciers as indicators of Mediterraneanpalaeoclimate during the Last Glacial Maximum(Late Wurmian) in northwest Greece. J. QuaternarySci. 18(5): 431-440.Humlum, O. 1998. The climatic significance of rock glaciers.Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 9: 375-395.Humlum, O. 2000. The geomorphic significance of rockglaciers: Estimates of rock glacier debris volumesand headwall recession rates in west Greenland.Geomorphology 35: 41-67.Johnson, B.G. 2007. The effect of topography, latitude, andlithology on rock glacier distribution in the LemhiRange, central Idaho, USA. 91: 38-50.Kazuheru, M. 2003. Vegetation succession in response toglacial recession from 1997–2002 on Mt. Kenya. J.of Geography 473(2): 608-619.Kerschner, H. 1978. Palaeoclimatic inferences from LateWurm rock glaciers, Eastern Central Alps, WesternTirol, Austria. Arctic & Alpine Research 10: 635-644.Kimball, K.D. & Weihrauch, D.M. 2000. Alpine vegetationcommunities and the alpine-treeline ecotone boundaryin New England as biomonitors of climate change.USDA Forest Service Proc. RMRS 15(3).Krainer, K. & Mostler, W. 2002. Hydrology of active rockglaciers: Examples from the Austrian Alps. Arctic,Antarctic, & Alpine Res. 34(2): 142-149.Millar, C. & Westfall, R.D. Rock glaciers and relatedperiglacial landforms in the Sierra Nevada,CA, USA: Inventory, distribution and climaticrelationships. Quaternary Internatl.: doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2007.06.004.Potter, N., Jr. et al. 1998. Galena Creek rock glacier revisited:New observations on an old controversy. GeografiskaAnnaler 80A: 251-265.Schrott, L. 1996. Some geomorphological-hydrologicalaspects of rock glaciers in the Andes (San Juan,Argentina). Z. Geomorph N.F. 104: 161-173.
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ContentsPreface ...................
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Mapping and Modeling the Distributi
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Satellite Observations of Frozen Gr
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xiiIce Wedge Thermal Regime in Nort
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xivPermafrost Response to Dynamics
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NICOP SponsorsUniversitiesUniversit
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Deep Permafrost Studies at the Lupi
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Effect of Fire on Pond Dynamics in
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Cryological Status of Russian Soils
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Acoustical Surveys of Methane Plume
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Permafrost Delineation Near Fairban
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Preparatory Work for a Permanent Ge
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A Provisional Soil Map of the Trans
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Martian Permafrost Depths from Orbi
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Time Series Analyses of Active Micr
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Impact of Permafrost Degradation on
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DC Resistivity Soundings Across a P
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Modeling Thermal and Moisture Regim
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A Provisional Permafrost Map of the
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Alpine Permafrost Distribution at M
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Cryogenic Formations of the Caucasu
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Modeling Potential Climatic Change
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A Hypothesis: A Condition of Growth
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Modeled Continual Surface Water Sto
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Freeze/Thaw Properties of Tundra So
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Discontinuous Permafrost Distributi
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Thermal Regime Within an Arctic Was
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Seasonal and Interannual Variabilit
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Twelve-Year Thaw Progression Data f
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Continued Permafrost Warming in Nor
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Landsliding Following Forest Fire o
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A Permafrost Model Incorporating Dy
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Seasonal Sources of Soil Respiratio
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Greenland Permafrost Temperature Si
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The Importance of Snow Cover Evolut
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The Account of Long-Term Air Temper
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The Combined Isotopic Analysis of L
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Adaptating and Managing Nunavik’s
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Human Experience of Cryospheric Cha
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HiRISE Observations of Fractured Mo
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A Soil Freeze-Thaw Model Through th
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Mapping and Modeling the Distributi
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First Results of Ground Surface Tem
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Historical Changes in the Seasonall
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Rock Glaciers in the Kåfjord Area,
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Snowpack Evolution on Permafrost, N
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Climate Change in Permafrost Region
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Maximizing Construction Season in a
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Pleistocene Sand-Wedge, Composite-W
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